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Inferno
Prologue Millow's Creek was a small village with a population of only about 1,000 people. There was a marketplace and a church, but not much to look at besides the huge mountains to the East and the large, expansive forests all around. There was a lake, but it was hours away, and over the mountains. But what really set the little village apart from anywhere else was the huge science center. While most of the people lived in small, one story houses, the Center was made of stainless steel and 3 stories tall. It wasn't extremely important, they just did research on the environment and such. But something terrible was happening in one of those fancy rooms, full of glistening technology..... "This is out of hand." the man said. His suit set him apart from most of the rest of the people in the room, many who were still in their lab coats. Everyone wore expressions of varying degrees of shock. "It-It's not our fault..." stuttered a balding scientist. He hastened to shove up his thin rimmed glasses as the man in the suit turned to him. "Oh yes it is! It's your fault and my fault and every pitiful, god-forsaken human on this planet. We were given a gift with this planet and now look what's happened!" He threw a stack of paper down on the table. Several people gasped and one woman reached forward, leafing through the reports. She looked at the man in the suit in shock, "But...this can't be right! This gives us-" "Less then a week," the man nodded. "You think Haiti was bad? You think Japan was bad? Those were the opening acts. Those were appetizers." The scientists stared at him in horror, wondering if he was really suggesting... "Because, ladies and gents, like it or not, in 6 days time, the world as we know it will end." The scientists stared at one another across the table, no one being able to speak. By that evening, the entire population of the world knew. People were hurriedly constructing bomb shelters or requesting for NASA to shoot them into space. Everyone knew what was coming, everyone was trying to prepare. But there was no way to escape the inevitable. Chapter 1 "No fair!" wailed Ashpaw. Mosspaw cuffed him around the ear one more time and hopped away before he could retaliate. Bramblepaw snorted, "Honestly Ashpaw, you act like you've never been to training before...." Ashpaw grinned and leaped at her. Bramblepaw let out a small shriek and ducked, letting him fly by then spinning around and attacking while he was unbalanced. "What are you guys doing?" Bramblepaw looked up to see Applefur with Leopardpaw and Dustpaw. She grinned, "Beating up Ashpaw." "I'll get you for that," he growled behind her. Mosspaw giggled. Applefur rolled her eyes. Most of the warriors had learned just to leave these apprentices alone. "Well it's almost dark. You need to come back to camp now." "Awwww...." Mosspaw sighed. Applefur gave her a look and the gray she-cat padded forward. Ashpaw and Bramblepaw were a little more reluctant, but soon they were all heading back to camp. "Hey Dustpaw," Ashpaw whispered. The small tom looked at him. "I hear there are foxes in the woods this time at night!" the bigger tom said, grinning evilly. Dustpaw looked around, then back to Ashpaw with big eyes. "Oh, be nice!" Leopardpaw scolded, "You're so mean!" Ashpaw rolled his eyes. As they entered camp, they headed straight for the apprentices den except for Leopardpaw who muttered, "I need to go ask Poppyleaf something....she backed away from the group and padded to the medicine den. She smiled as she listened to her friends' voices die away. The medicine den was a little cave in the side of the ravine where ThunderClan made their home. She heard voices from inside and stopped, listening. "-telling you Smokestar, most terrible thing I've ever seen...." Leopardpaw stopped in her tracks. That was Poppyleaf! Her leader's deep voice responded, "But what happened?" Then it was Poppyleaf's meow again, "I was standing in the camp, it was an overcast day-raining, I think. Anyways, there was a huge shudder. The Earth split over and trees fell. Then there was water everywhere....strange clouds....and the rain was getting harder and harder....I could hear voices-not just the Clan....there was screaming and crying..." Too late, Leopardpaw realized they were coming out of the medicine den. She dived into the shadows of a bush, cursing her golden pelt. But the two cats didn't seem to notice her as they padded out, their voices lower. Leopardpaw strained to listen. "-and then it was all quiet...but the storm didn't stop. And then it was all gone and in it's place was just...just ashes. And then I heard Spottedpaw's voice-" Leopardpaw winced. Spottedpaw had been the medicine cat apprentice. She had seen something terrible- a vision from StarClan. It was so horrible and shocking the young apprentice had died days later without telling anyone what she had seen. "-said, 'Run while you can'." Smokestar stared at his medicine cat for what seemed like eons. Then he stared at the sky. Leopardpaw could barely hear him as he whispered, "But why?" Poppyleaf didn't seem to have an answer. The two cats stared upward for a while, then finally went back to their dens, leaving Leopardpaw crouching in the shadows, colder then she'd ever been in her life. Chapter 2 In the next morning's light, it all seemed much more ridiculous to Leopardpaw. Nothing ''that horrible had happened to the Clans. Ever. Even the ancient history of Twoleg's taking their first home was small compared to the horros Poppyleaf had described. Clan life was supposed to be mostly boring. Clan life ''was ''boring. The excitement of the great Firestar's days had diminished over the years so that there hadn't been anything but fights between Clans at Gatherings and the occasional fox attack. Leopardpaw didn't want to tell her friends. She was terrified, but she needed to think. She could think of what they would say. Dustpaw would freak out, Ashpaw would scoff, Mosspaw would tell her why that could never happen, and Bramblepath would comfort her patronizingly. Because that's how it was. In her group, Leopardpaw was always been the pacifist, the sweet one. Ashpaw, Mosspaw, and Bramblepaw were the tough ones. If any of them had heard what she had.... Leopardpaw went limp against the tree trunk she was leaning on. She slid to the forest ground and lay there for a moment, wishing Applefur or Bramblepaw or ''anyone ''but her had heard Poppyleaf's terrible prediction... "Leopardpaw? Oh my StarClan!" Leopardpaw snapped up quickly. Dustpaw's amber eyes stared back at her, horrified. "Oh my StarClan! I thought you were- the way you were lying there- you looked so-" "Well I'm all right!" Leopardpaw snapped, perhaps a bit to harshly. Dustpaw flinched and Leopardpaw was too wrapped up in her thoughts to care. She brushed passed him and padded through the forest. She started to trot, and before she knew it, she was running to the river. She burst through the trees and into the dazzling sunshine. The ThunderClan- WindClan border was her favorite place. She sat on her favorite rock and buried her face in her paws. Immediately she felt terrible. She had been short with poor Dustpaw and now he must be telling the others....all because of a secret she didn't want to know. "Leopardpaw?" she looked up to see the only two cats who could've made a difference in her mood- Mosspaw and Bramblepaw. "Hey." she said weakly to her two best friends. She stood and leapt of her rock, joining them in a small circle. They all sat. "Are you okay-" began Mosspaw "I'm fine." Leopardpaw said quickly. "Just tired....Poppyleaf had me up late last night." It was mostly true. She just hadn't kept Leopardpaw up by ''teaching her. And her friends knew Leopardpaw had taken a hard path- studying the path of a warrior by day, the path of a medicine cat by night. "Come on," she said, standing up. "Let's go hunt." Mosspaw and Bramblepaw looked at each other. Leopardpaw could tell they were still worried about her. Don't worry about it, ''she wanted to tell them, ''I can handle it! She thoughts about Poppyleaf's horrible dream again and shivered. For now... Chapter 3 Are you prepared to loose everything? Spottedpaw's voice asked melodically. Leopardpaw gazed out over the ashes that had once been her camp in horror. Your camp, your Clanmates, your friends? '' Leopardpaw saw her friends' faces, crying for her to save them from something she was positive she couldn't fight. She wanted to run, but her paws were rooted to the spot. A ghostly image of the medicine cat apprentice appeared in front of her. ''My mentor was wise enough to take you on, even after what happened to me. You have seen what I saw. You will walk through ashes. You will see the bones of your friends. And ultimately, Leopardpaw, in five days time... She smiled terribly, All of us are going to die. "Leopardpaw! Wake up!" Leopardpaw sat up, still whimpering. She buried her nose in Ashpaw's fur. He looked slightly shocked. "Leopardpaw, it was just a dream....it's okay...." He ran his tail over her back awkwardly, clearly not good at comforting upset she-cats. "Not a dream!" Leopardpaw managed to wail through her tears and Ashpaw's fur. "Need to talk w-with Poppyleaf!" "D'you want me to come with you...?" Ashpaw asked. "No!" Leopardpaw cried, pushing her way out of the den. She felt terrible. First snapping at Dustpaw, the lying to Bramblepaw and Mosspaw, now being cruel to Ashpaw when he was just trying to help....and then her dream....her horrible, horrible dream... She burst into Poppyleaf's den, "Poppyleaf I had a dr-" she broke off, seeing her mentor was not alone in the den. Smokestar also looked at her through hazy blue eyes. "I'll come back later," she said in a small voice. Poppyleaf smiled, but it was strained, "No Leopardpaw....stay. Tell us, you had a dream?" Still looking nervously at Smokestar, Leopardpaw quickly told her story. Smokestar looked at Poppyleaf in horror, "You were right-" "Shhh!" Poppyleaf scolded. She looked at Leopardpaw nervously. "It's okay," Leopardpaw said sheepishly. "I heard yesterday." Poppyleaf looked shocked, but Smokestar just said, "So you know....what we're up against?" "Well," Leopardpaw said weakly, "My guess is as good as yours." And they stood there, all pondering what these terrible visions could possibly mean for them and the Clan. Chapter 4 "I know something's wrong with her, but she won't- oh, hey um- Leopardpaw!" Leopardpaw came out of the medicine cat's den to find her friend's clustered together. She appreciated that they were worried about her, but at the same time felt slightly insulted. I can take care of myself! "Let's go to the Mossy Clearing." she said, turning to head out of camp. When they arrived at the arena, they split into the regular teams: Leopardpaw, Mosspaw, and Dustpaw versus Bramblepaw and Ashpaw. Leopardpaw and Dustpaw were the worst at fighting while Mosspaw was the best. Bramblepaw and Ashpaw were both good fighters as well. And Bramblepaw didn't mind the extra time with Ashpaw. "Okay guys, we have numbers, but both Bramblepaw and Ashpaw ae great stratigests. So we need to outsmart them." Mosspaw said softly as they prepared. "Ashpaw usually attacks head on, Bramblepaw usually sneaks up and gets us out for good." Dustpaw offered. Leopardpaw was happy to immerse herself in battle training. It was something normal, something fun, "So let's go for Bramblepaw!!" The others agreed and in a minute, they started. Ashpaw made the first move, as usual. He charged Mosspaw and Dustpaw while Bramblepaw sat for a moment, then began sneaking around the sides of the clearing towards Leopardpaw. Instead of taking on Ashpaw, like usual, Mosspaw lead Dustpaw over to Bramblepaw. Her eyes widened as the two other apprentices pounced on her and held her down. Mosspaw grinned, then realized Bramblepaw wasn't fighting to free herself. She looked down to a smiling Bramblepaw. "Gotcha," the brown tabby smiled. Ashpaw had snuck up behind them. Grabbing Mosspaw's scruff, he yanked her off Bramblepaw who immediately freed herself and began pummeling Dustpaw. "We win!! Ashpaw crowed. "No fair!" Mosspaw wailed, "Where was Leopardpaw!!" "Wasn't she with you?" Bramblepaw asked, padding away from Dustpaw who's fur was covered in moss. Dustpaw looked upset, "No!" Bramblepaw looked around, "Leopar- oh, there she is....Leopardpaw, what's wrong?!" The apprentices ran over to Leopardpaw who was shaking on the ground, her paws under her, her eyes gazing slightly upward. "A thousand deaths..." Leopardpaw muttered in horror, "A barren wasteland of ashes....fire from the sky!" she rose to her paws, still looking in the same place. The she shrieked, "The end is near!!!" She crumpled to the ground and the others looked at each other in horror. Chapter 5 Leopardpaw opened her eyes. She was lying on a smooth rock in the middle of a huge grass land with the greenest grass she'd ever seen. Fireflies lit up the air and she smelled juicy prey and many other cats. It was a cold scent in her nose, but not unpleasant. Like ice and the spirit of being wild.... Suddenly she realized what was missing, "Where are the stars?" she gasped "They're right here," Leopardpaw turned and gasped, "Spottedpaw!!! Oh my Star-" she paused, then narrowed her eyes, "Wait....you're dead....so this must be..." her eyes widened. Spottedpaw looked pleased, "Yup. This is StarClan." "Does this mean I'm dead...?" Spottedpaw laughed, "No!" her eyes became serious, "But you're very close. You saw what I did. I suppose you're just stronger then me." Her tone became slightly bitter. Leopardpaw shivered, remembering the horrible things she'd seen. One moment she had been about to pounce on Ashpaw, the next she'd been in the middle of the Mossy Clearing....as it was being destroyed. "The earth shook and cracked," Leopardpaw recalled, "Fire rained from the sky and there was all this water...." Spottedpaw nodded sadly, "The Clans have reached the end of their era. The Day of No Sun is approaching...." Leopardpaw gasped, "What is it?! How do I stop it?!" Spottedpaw laughed bitterly, "You cannot stop it. You cannot change it. You can only hope for a swift death." Leopardpaw shivered, "There must be something I can do!" "You cannot fight the End of the World." Leopardpaw gasped, "That's what it is?" Spottedpaw nodded, "You have 5 days- now 4 days time. To escape to the Last Place. You can be safe there, and you may survive. But it is highly unlikely...." "Where is the Last Place?" Leopardpaw asked eagerly. Spottedpaw laughed, "You are brave Leopardpaw, much braver then I was. But how can you hope to save your Clan when you can't tell your friends about this out of pride?" "It's not pride!" Leopardpaw cried, "C'mon, just tell me!!" But Spottedpaw and StarClan were already fading away. Chapter 6 Leopardpaw stretched and blinked. The medicine den came into focus as well as Mosspaw and Bramblepaw's worried faces. "You're awake!" shrieked Bramblepaw in obvious relief. "Don't act so surprised, you'll frighten her!" said Poppyleaf from somewhere behind Leopardpaw. But as she came to stand in front of the apprentice as well, she looked just as relieved as the two apprentices. "How long was I out?" Leopardpaw asked. But she was still tired, so it sounded like, 'Ow long wa I ow?' Luckily Mosspaw understood, "A day." "A day??!?!?!!?" Leopardpaw tried to leap up, only to fall back again. "I have to talk to Smokestar!!!" "No you don't," Poppyleaf said. Bramblepaw nudged her and Mosspaw cleared her throat. Looking apologetic, Poppyleaf meowed, "Um...your friends would also like to talk to you..." Leopardpaw groaned a little. Poppyleaf shot her an apologetic look as she left the medicine den. A moment later, Ashpaw and Dustpaw came in. Bramblepaw spoke first, "Why didn't you tell us something was wrong? We've been worried-" "I know," Leopardpaw said quietly, "This is gonna sound stupid, but I wanted to prove I could handle it. Alone...." Ashpaw looked at the medicine den, "And how did that work out for ya?" Mosspaw cuffed his ear. Leopardpaw fought a smile, then remembered Spottedpaw's chilling words. 4 days. As fast as she could, she explained to her friends. It was kind of fun in a terrible way to see their faces become more and more horrified. "4 days????!!!" Mosspaw exploded. Bramblepaw appeared in shock, "What're we gonna do?" Dustpaw was visibly shaking and Ashpaw was quiet, the way he always got when he was serious. "I'll go get Smokestar," Ashpaw mumbled. He raced out of the medicine den, leaving the others staring at Leopardpaw who was desperately wishing she'd seen nothing at all. Chapter 7 Leopardpaw quickly explained her vision to Smokestar who called a meeting. Leopardpaw watched from the medicine den with Mosspaw and Bramblepaw. She was uncomfortably aware of the cats turning to stare at her, then turning back. Smokestar had said he would just be telling the Clan about what had happened. He would not make a decision to leave yet. Leopardpaw watched her leader climb the large ledge and she thought bitterly, What other choice do we have? "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High Ledge for a Clan meeting!" The ancient call was unnecessary, everyone had already gathered. Leopardpaw turned and crept back to her nest. As Smokestar began speaking, she sat down and looked at her friends. "Everyone's gonna flip..." Mosspaw muttered, still watching outside of the den. Bramblepaw shivered, "Why is this happening?" "I don't know," Leopardpaw murmured. There was a sudden intake of breath from outside. It sounded so strange that the three apprentices burst into hushed giggles. "I guess he told them." Mosspaw said after they calmed down. Bramblepaw snorted, "No that's how everyone breaths in camp." She mimed taking huge takes of breath which sent the apprentices into hysterics again. Poppyleaf stuck her head out of the back where she was storing herbs. "If you don't want the entire Clan to come in here to see what's wrong, quit it!" But that only made them laugh harder. "I think it went okay....Dustpaw almost fainted, but then again, that's Dustpaw," Ashpaw said when he came to visit the she-cats later in the day. "But Dustpaw already heard about it from Leopardpaw." Mosspaw said, puzzled. "Again," Ashpaw grinned, "That's Dustpaw." Leopardpaw laughed, relieved that her friends could joke about it. At least for now... "Well, I think you're better....you're up and about, and making a terrible ruckus." Poppyleaf had come in, and she was staring at the four apprentices severely. But Leopardpaw noticed her mouth was twitching like she wanted to smile. Leopardpaw jumped up, "Thanks!" she called, following the others out into the sunshine. Chapter 8 "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High Ledge for a Clan meeting!" Leopardpaw was woken by the call, and by Mosspaw's paw poking her. "Get up!" the gray cat hissed. Yawning, Leopardpaw stood. She stifled a purr as she saw Mosspaw attempt to wake Bramblepaw and Ashpaw. Those two sleep like they're dead badgers! She padded out to meet Dustpaw outside of the den. He looked a little shaky, but his amber eyes lightened when he saw her, "Hey Leopardpaw!" he meowed. Leopardpaw padded over to him sleepily, "Wazgoinon?" "I guess it has to do with the....the thing you told us. Yesterday." "Oh," Leopardpaw sat with him, waiting for the others. She liked being with Dustpaw. Both of them were more quiet then loud, and when neither of them talked, it wasn't an awkward silence. In a minute, the others came out of the den. Mosspaw looked slightly flustered, and Bramblepaw looked half-asleep still, but they managed to get under the High Ledge in time. "My Clanmates, we are entering dark times." Smokestar said. "Both Leopardpaw and Poppyleaf have had terrible visions of this oncoming horror. We have 3 days." "What about the other Clans?" Mosspaw called. Smokestar lowered his head, "I sent Amberfur to tell them....but I don't know if they'll come with us or not." "Come with us?" yowled one of the elders. "Where are we going?!" "We have to leave." Everyone turned to see Poppyleaf emerging from her den. "We have to get far away- we may never return." she meowed, as if in a trance. Smokestar cleared his throat, "You don't have to come with us. I hope we're wrong about the situation....but if you don't come, there's a good chance...." he faltered, "There's a good chance you'll join StarClan." His words were met with gasps and scattered whispers throughout the crowd. Smokestar turned to leap off the Ledge. "We leave tomorrow!" he called over the Ledge, disappearing into his den. The Clan erupted in frantic conversation. Chapter 9 That day, Leopardpaw and her friends went to all their old haunts, then sat by the creek. They joked and laughed and talked about anything but the following day. As the sun sank, Leopardpaw felt like crying. Mosspaw led the way back to camp. None of them talked on the way back, but Leopardpaw could see Bramblepaw was struggling to keep her tears silent. They stopped at the oath to the camp, each of the apprentices staring out into the forest. This is how I will remember the forest. Alive and filled with prey and good times with great friends... Bramblepaw gave a choked sob and, with Dustpaw in the lead, they turned and filed back into camp. As Leopardpaw settled into her nest, she tried to ignore the terrible feeling in her stomach, the aching in her heart, and the sound of her tears hitting the moss. Smokestar woke them early the next morning. It was an overcast day, and the camp was unusually quiet. The cats who were going gathered at the pathway to the territory while the cats who were staying came out of their dens to bid the others farewell. 2 of the elders were staying behind and one of the senior warriors. "Is this everyone?" Smokestar asked hollowly. The cats nodded wordlessly, "I told the others to meet us on the hill overlooking horseplace. They trooped out of ThunderClan territory in almost silence. Leopardpaw looked at all the familiar landmarks with a pang in her heart. Never again. Bramblepaw was not the only one crying now. Mosspaw and some of the warriors were. The kits were wailing. Leopardpaw swore she saw Smokestar tearing up, but he looked away when he saw her staring. The went up the hill, and Smokestar meowed, "Hello...." Leopardpaw heard WindClan's leader, Redstar speak, "I've brought most of my Clan. The elders and a few warriors chose to stay....but not much I could do there." "I left Pineneedle with a little less then half of my warriors and the elders," the RiverClan leader, Willowstar said. Pineneddle was her deputy, and she sounded broken at leaving him behind. Surprisingly, it was the ShadowClan deputy, Oakfur. who spoke, "Shadestar chose to stay behind....with most of the warriors and all the elder." Leopardpaw gasped. More then half of ShadowClan was going to die....and some of the other Clans too. Suddenly she felt panicked. What was she doing? She had to get back to camp, fast. Only Mosspaw on her right and Bramblepaw on her left kept her rooted to the spot. Stonestar got to the front of the cats, "Well, we're ready to go....But before we do, I think we should acknowledge the cat who gave us enough warning to escape. She can lead us, and I think it'd be wise if she picked two others to help her..." Leopardpaw was mildly surprised. Poppyleaf? Lead all these cats? Her mentor would be terrified. "Leopardpaw, will you lead us?" Chapter 10 Leopardpaw clearly hadn't heard right. Her?? Lead all ''these cats???? Was Smokestar out of his mind? "Leopardpaw?" he said again, quite clearly, "Leopardpaw, come here." Leopardpaw padded forward as Mosspaw and Bramblepaw whispered encouragement behind her. She stopped and sat next to Smokestar. "Could you choose two cats to help you lead us to the Last Place?" Smokestar asked gently. Leopardpaw nodded weakly, immediately thinking ''Bramblepaw and Mosspaw. ''But....was that right? Maybe she needed someone who wasn't one of her best friends....but someone she could still trust.... She closed her eyes and meowed, "Mosspaw and- and Ashpaw." She opened her eyes. Mosspaw looked thrilled, but was seriously hiding it. Ashpaw looked surprised, but also excited. And Bramblepaw- Leopardpaw flinched as she looked at the brown tabby. Bramblepaw's green eyes were wide, full of hurt and confusion. Betrayal. Leopardpaw could tell what she was thinking. ''What did I do wrong? As the other Clans and Smokestar began to converse and move forward, Leopardpaw stayed rooted to the spot. She stared into the valley, the valley she had called home for nearly two seasons. The place she had run and played and learned and laughed and cried.... She was leaving behind everything. Her home. Some of her Clanmates. Her life. Her thoughts flicked to Bramblepaw. Maybe her friend. Herself. 2 days. She lifted a paw, moving in the direction of her home, her life. She conjured up every memory of her life, all the ones she could remember since the beginning of kit hood. Then she left go. Let the memories flow back to the place they belonged, the lake she had loved, the territory she grew up in. It took all her strength to turn and run after her Clanmates. As she fell into step with Mosspaw and Ashpaw, she let her tears flow freely, not caring who saw. I don't care if the world ends or not. I've already lost everything. Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics